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Re-Thinking Disability in Tech: How Workplace Inclusion Can Drive Growth

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Heart, Mind, Soul

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Upskilling Is the Answer to Closing Tech&#8217;s Gender Gap

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On the Road to 1 Million Trees: VMware’s Journey to Net Zero and You

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Our Mission: Deliver the Trusted Foundation to Accelerate Innovation

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Dr. Moogega Cooper interview the Duncan Hewett at VMworld 2021.

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The Value of Perseverance: Why Rocky Starts Can Make Us Stronger

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I truly believe that the vast majority of tech firms want to do a better job of supporting workers with diverse needs. DEI initiatives are proliferating across our sector, and not before time.

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But when it comes to disability, we are still a long way from true representation.

I’m glad that we’re making progress. In the U.S. for example, VMware's self-identification rate of employees with disabilities is 3.2%, up from 1.8% in 2019. But that’s far short of the U.S. <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/disabl.nr0.htm">population-wide figure of 18%</a>.

Today, on the UN’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities, it’s time for all of us to ask what we can do to increase the rate of change.

The answer, I believe, is to fundamentally re-frame the way we think about disability in tech.

Inclusion is, of course, a worthy goal in its own right. But bringing more people with disabilities into the workforce shouldn’t just be seen as a noble cause; it’s not something to be bestowed.

The reality is that fostering the inclusion of people with disabilities benefits everyone who works in tech – and, ultimately, gives companies a competitive advantage.

We know, for example, that firms that demonstrate leadership on disability employment and inclusion are outperforming those with more modest achievements in this area.

An <a href="https://newsroom.accenture.com/news/companies-leading-in-disability-inclusion-have-outperformed-peers-accenture-research-finds.htm">Accenture study of 140 US companies</a> participating in the Disability Equality Index found that those in the index’s top tier achieved double the net income and 30% higher economic profit margins over four years than companies ranked lower on the index.

It makes sense: companies that select staff from a larger pool of candidates are likely to enjoy superior outcomes. And as well as raw intellect, people with disabilities may have faced more barriers in life which have led to them developing exceptional grit and determination, which makes them formidable employees.

Meanwhile, end-users are increasingly demanding accessibility from the tech products and services they use.

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I think the biggest innovations in accessible tech are still to come. But I’m happy to say that VMware is already devoting considerable energy to this area.

In 2019, VMware partnered with Singapore’s Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN) for an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-KQtj3L7q0">Ideas Hackathon</a> to create an app to help the association’s students tackle the challenges of social, numeracy, and vocational skills, and to make Singapore itself more inclusive.

The winning “Connect Us” pitch aimed to provide a social networking platform for the association’s students, alumni, and potential employers to connect. Further developed by the team with assistance from VMware, it made its debut as the APSNLive app later that year at vFORUM Singapore.

The following year, in February 2020, we kicked off our first-ever Accessibility Week with a summit followed by <a href="https://medium.com/vmwaredesign/vmwares-first-accessibility-hackathon-32fc31d63219">an accessibility hackathon</a>. Five different countries, six different business units, and nine different products were represented.

Ten concepts were developed during the hackathon, including a walk assistant application for Blind/Low Vision; programming that opens doors with the twist or tap of your smartphone; and Intelligent Wheelchair Object Awareness.

The winning idea, opening doors with your phone, was integrated into our <a href="https://www.vmware.com/products/workspace-one/access.html">VMware Workspace One Access</a> product.

These hackathons have been a team-building triumph. We saw how passionately our employees feel about disability inclusion and received enormously positive feedback from staff who were grateful to be playing their part.

But VMware is doing plenty more: for example, we recently completed the roll-out of three largely accessible tools, Fusion, Workstation, and Player, with more to come.

In 2020, we launched a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c822RG-PyVc">Disability Power Of Difference (POD) community</a> which has since rolled out a series of awareness-building learning courses and partnered on our first-time submission to the Disability Equality Index.

These initiatives dovetail with our broader Equity and Trust commitments within our <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/esg.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2030 Agenda</a>, which we hope will bring us very close to a truly representative workforce and, ultimately, strengthen our company.

In August this year, VMware joined the <a href="https://news.vmware.com/dei/valuable-500" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Valuable 500</a>, a global business collective that is igniting systemic change and unlocking the business, social and economic value of more than 1 billion people with disabilities around the world. Our CEO, Raghu Raghuram, committed to building disability inclusion into VMware’s leadership agenda.

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We are striving not to become complacent. Creating a more inclusive workplace for those with disabilities – and encouraging others to do the same – will require sustained effort and even greater integration of accessibility into our products, services, and culture. 

<a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/diversity.html">DEI</a>, and particularly disability inclusion, must be integral to the way we in the tech sector move forward as an industry. As individuals, we can all play our part by learning more about disability as an aspect of diversity and deepening our understanding of disability inclusion. Because without disability-inclusive policies, no tech firm will be able to attract and retain the talent it needs to thrive in the years to come.

Learn more about how VMware is building a more sustainable, equitable and secure future.

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Finding innovative ways to support workers with disability is a proven means of achieving better business outcomes – and a cause your entire team can rally behind.

Prioritizing Workers with Disabilities is a Win‑Win for Tech Industry

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Re-Thinking Disability in Tech: How Workplace Inclusion Can Drive Growth - VMware News and Stories

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Craig Dobson

PALO ALTO, Calif.–VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) today announced the company has been invited to be a member of the 2021 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), one of the world’s leading environmental, social and governance (ESG) benchmarks, for the second consecutive year.

VMware ranked in the 97th percentile in the Software & Services Industry category for its leadership in ESG and was ranked among the top six software companies in the indices.1

“ESG is at the heart of everything we do at VMware, and we hold ourselves accountable to our 2030 Agenda goals through transparent reporting on our progress,” said Nicola Acutt, vice president of ESG at VMware. “Being recognized—especially for the second year in a row—is a significant achievement, and we couldn’t be prouder of the results we’re starting to see. This reflects the work our teams drive every day and is an indicator of our commitment to ESG across the company as it involves numerous stakeholders, practices and policies.”

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The DJSI are float-adjusted market capitalization weighted indices comprised of global, regional and country benchmarks that measure the performance of companies selected using ESG criteria. The Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI North America) apply a transparent, rules-based constituent selection process based on the companies’ S&P Global ESG Score resulting from the annual S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). The CSA consists of a rigorous questionnaire assessing both public and non-public data submitted by participating companies. This year, more than 10,000 publicly traded companies were invited to participate in the S&P Global CSA.

VMware achieved high scores in key areas of business conduct, including information security, cybersecurity, human rights, labor practices, environmental reporting as well as corporate citizenship and philanthropy, among others.

“We congratulate VMware for being included in the DJSI World and DJSI North America,” said Manjit Jus, global head of ESG Research, S&P Global. “A DJSI distinction is a reflection of being a sustainability leader in your industry. The record number of companies participating in the 2021 <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/esg/csa/">S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment</a> is testament to the growing movement for ESG disclosure and transparency.”

VMware’s 2030 Agenda is a decade-long ESG commitment and call to action to foster a more sustainable, equitable and secure world. We are building a future in which our technology will make a positive impact on all our stakeholders: employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, communities and our planet. Learn <a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/esg.html">more</a> about ESG at VMware.

About S&P Dow Jones Indices

S&P Dow Jones Indices (DJI) is the largest global resource for essential index-based concepts, data and research, and home to iconic financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average®. More assets are invested in products based on our indices than products based on indices from any other provider in the world. Since Charles Dow invented the first index in 1884, S&P DJI has been innovating and developing indices across the spectrum of asset classes helping to define the way investors measure and trade the markets. S&P Dow Jones Indices is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), which provides essential intelligence for individuals, companies and governments to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visit: www.spglobal.com/spdji.

VMware is a leading provider of multi-cloud services for all apps, enabling digital innovation with enterprise control. As a trusted foundation to accelerate innovation, VMware software gives businesses the flexibility and choice they need to build the future. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, VMware is committed to building a better future through the company’s 2030 Agenda. For more information, please visit <a href="http://www.vmware.com/company">www.vmware.com/company</a>.

Note: This article may contain hyperlinks to non-VMware websites that are created and maintained by third parties who are solely responsible for the content on such websites.

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1. <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/esg/csa/djsi-csa-annual-review">DJSI/CSA Annual Review 2021</a>.

VMware has been recognized for its ESG leadership with an invitation to the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for the second consecutive year.

We've been recognized for our ESG leadership with an invitation to the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices.

VMware Recognized for ESG Leadership with Invitation to DJSI

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VMware Recognized for ESG Leadership - VMware News and Stories

VMware Recognized for ESG Leadership with Invitation to Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for 2nd Consecutive Year

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cbruce@vmware.com

We're proud to be one of the world’s top-performing companies in the #DJSI, a leading #ESG benchmark, for the second consecutive year. @spglobal #vmware2030 #CSA2021

As the world looks for ways to get more women interested in studying STEM, India’s young women act as a shining example to follow. In India, a country now widely recognized as the new Silicon Valley for technology investments, research, and development, more than 45% of STEM graduates are female. But while there is a large pool of talent in India, the career pipeline is leakier than it should be—in fact, 50% of women fall out of the workforce within eight years of university graduation and never return.

This missed opportunity struck VMware’s Duncan Hewett after he spoke with 250 women at a technology session in 2018 It became the catalyst for VMinclusion Taara—a free, self-paced training program to get female tech graduates in India back into the IT sector. Two years and almost 13,000 women enrolled, VMware’s Taara upskilling program has helped more than 2,000 women rejoin the workforce. It has become one of the most effective return-to-work programs in the country and has put a spotlight on providing women with the skills, confidence, and support to return to the IT sector in India.

VMware’s 2030 Agenda sets specific diversity, equity, and inclusion goals that are embedded in the way we do business. Taara is just one way we live out these goals. Studying the career journeys of just some of the Taara graduates, we’re able to uncover the many reasons that take Indian women out of the IT workforce, the barriers to re-entry they face, and how those barriers can be overcome to add their valuable skills back into India’s vibrant tech sector.

The <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/how-covid-19-has-pushed-companies-over-the-technology-tipping-point-and-transformed-business-forever">pace of digital acceleration</a> and the IT industry’s innovation makes it an exciting place to work. But a career break can mean that you will need to refresh your skills and even more important regain your confidence.

Taara graduate Anusha Subramanium had been part of the IT sector for six years before she put her career on hold to become a mother. Anusha says she understood how quickly IT skills could become dated and continued to upskill by earning an MBA. But when it came to applying for jobs to return to the workforce, she found this qualification didn’t represent the skills prospective employers wanted. Then she discovered Taara.

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Managing new commitments can make it difficult for women to find the time to upskill. After taking a break from her IT role to focus on her newborn, Taara graduate Sagarika Sahoo said she struggled to find time to reposition herself for employment.

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Sagarika completed Taara’s self-paced courses and said connecting with other women through Taara helped keep her motivated. She is now back at work with a leading technology organization.

Another graduate, Sharmila Vaithilinga, said she loved working in the technology sector after joining the industry straight after university. But she decided to take a break after relocating and starting a family. Although she continued to participate in upskilling programs, her break turned into an 11-year absence from the workforce that plagued her self-esteem.

Yet while skills and time are frequent barriers to re-entering the workforce, rebuilding confidence is what many participants find to be the most valuable part of the Taara program. And even though the demand for IT talent continues to surge, a new LinkedIn study has found working women in India are four times less confident that they’ll secure a role than their male counterparts.

VMinclusion Taara started with the idea that talent shouldn’t be wasted, as well as the value that all people, regardless of circumstance, should have an opportunity to re-enter the workforce. Now one of the largest upskilling programs in India, it has supported over 12,800 women and plays a valuable role in creating a more equitable future as part of VMware’s 2030 Agenda.

Taara graduates like Anusha, Sagarika, and Shamila are a testament to the program’s success and highlight the ability of programs like VMinclusion Taara to change women’s lives and bring diverse talent back to the tech industry.

See more inspiring stories in “<a href="https://www.vmware.com/taara/e-book" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A Galaxy of Stars</a>”, a new e-book highlighting the career journeys of VMinclusion Taara graduates.

As the world looks for ways to get more women interested in studying STEM, India’s young women act as a shining example to follow.

Upskilling Is the Answer to Closing Tech's Gender Gap

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Upskilling Is the Answer to Closing Tech's Gender Gap - VMware News and Stories

Pathways to Sustainable Clouds - VMware News and Stories

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Pathways to Sustainable Clouds

Meeting the needs of the present without compromising future generations is a challenge that every company must face. At VMware, that includes making purchasing decisions that align to our <a href="https://news.vmware.com/company/vmwares-culture-built-epic2-values">EPIC2</a> values and <a href="http://www.vmware.com/company/esg">Environmental, Social and Governance</a> (ESG) strategy.

We must strike a balance to protect our many stakeholders, including our customers, shareholders, employees and the planet. We are all responsible for achieving VMware’s 2030 Agenda and ESG goals together, which is why VMware is excited to partner with suppliers in a way that builds a more sustainable, equitable and secure future for all.

We recognize the importance of promotional items to our brand engagement, for multiple groups including customers, partners and employees. We also recognize that there is potential for significant waste from these purchases. We need to be stewards of the brand while minimizing impact to the planet. We are excited to announce that moving forward, we will only purchase sustainable and responsibly sourced promotional merchandise.

Some of our guiding principles moving forward include: 

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We define product categories as:

Today, the market for sustainable promotional items is growing rapidly but is still relatively small. We’re working with our suppliers to ensure that products are readily available. We are hopeful that the market will respond by embracing sustainability so that more companies choose this path. We must all embrace ESG and sustainability initiatives to ensure we do everything we can in the fight against climate change.  

For more information, contact <a href="mailto:responsiblesourcing@vmware.com">responsiblesourcing@vmware.com</a> to learn more and see how you can get involved.

1. Changing Markets Foundation. “Fossil Fashion: The hidden reliance of fast fashion on fossil fuels.” February 2021. 2. House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee. “Fixing Fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability.” February 5, 2019. 3. World Wildlife Fund. “The Impact of a Cotton T-Shirt.” January 16, 2013. 4. Chemical & Engineering News. “Cutting Out Textile Pollution.” Alex Scott. October 19, 2015. 5. United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Containers and Packaging: Product-Specific Data.” 6. Plastic Oceans International. “The Facts.” 7. United Nations. “The Sustainable Development Goals Report.” 2021. 8. United States Environmental Protection Agency. “National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling.” 9. Plastic Oceans International. “The Facts.”

VMware is excited to announce that we will only be purchasing sustainable and responsibly sourced promotional merchandise moving forward.

Read about our latest ESG commitment to purchase sustainable and responsibly sourced promotional merchandise.

Responsibly Sourcing Promotional Merchandise

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Responsibly Sourcing Promotional Items - VMware News and Stories

Advancing Our 2030 Agenda by Responsibly Sourcing Promotional Items

Senior Strategic Sourcing Manager, VMware

Matt Eaton

Read about our latest #ESG commitment to purchase sustainable and responsibly sourced promotional merchandise. #VMware2030 #sustainability #responsiblesourcing

VMware President Sumit Dhawan, CMO Carol Carpenter and ESG VP Nicola Acutt explore the new realities of our multi-cloud world and how VMware helps customers accelerate innovation with the "power of and." 

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The world is re-inventing itself through apps. Whether you call this digital transformation or just progress, a few things are clear.​​

​But the road to transformation is paved with challenges and compromises.​

It’s now a <a href="https://www.vmware.com/cloud-solutions/multi-cloud.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">multi-cloud</a> world, and organizations must choose between modernizing what they have or starting from scratch. Between tackling complex security challenges or taking on greater risk. Between giving developers autonomy or ensuring scalable, standardized operations.​​

VMware’s mission is to <a href="https://www.vmware.com/digital-foundation.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deliver the trusted foundation to accelerate innovation</a>. We do this with <a href="https://www.vmware.com/welcome/cross-cloud-services.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">VMware Cross-Cloud services for all apps</a>, enabling digital innovation and enterprise control. We think of this as delivering the “power of and.”​

We serve our customers in three main areas. We help them:​

In the process, we help customers focus less on making tradeoffs and more on driving innovation, so they can get from wherever they are to wherever they want to be…faster.

​At the heart of everything we do—every idea, every product we engineer, every customer we support—lies a responsibility and an opportunity to help make the world a better place. We call this our <a href="https://news.vmware.com/esg/2021-esg-report-our-path-to-2030">2030 Agenda</a>, our vision for delivering three key outcomes:

We know we won’t get there alone. By co-innovating with you—our employees, customers, communities, shareholders and partners—together we will redefine the future.

VMware President Sumit Dhawan, CMO Carol Carpenter and ESG VP Nicola Acutt explore the new realities of our multi-cloud world in this video.

Watch VMware President Sumit Dhawan, CMO Carol Carpenter and ESG VP Nicola Acutt explore the new realities of our multi-cloud world.

Video: VMware's Mission to Accelerate Innovation

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VMware's Mission: Deliver the Trusted Foundation to Accelerate Innovation

VMware has undertaken the multifaceted task of correcting non-inclusive terminology used in our products and company collateral. Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “Life is a journey, not a destination.” As with any societal issue, the journey toward inclusive terminology can’t happen overnight. Rather, it will be an ongoing effort to identify and replace terms and vocabulary choices that appear in our content and products. This journey requires changes in our mindset, awareness and understanding.

The Beginning of the Journey

<a href="https://news.vmware.com/company/replacing-problematic-terminology">About a year ago</a>, VMware formed an internal, cross-discipline team to develop and drive processes for addressing the use of non-inclusive terminology companywide. The team engaged with employees across the world, collaborating closely with VMware’s Power of Difference (POD) communities—our version of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).

We partnered with technology companies spearheading their own inclusive terminology efforts and leveraged technical libraries for guidance on the depth and context of terms usage in technical literature and research papers. The team researched and consulted with trusted advisors to validate that its decisions aligned with industry thought leadership on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and VMware’s <a href="https://www.vmware.com/radius/vmwares-culture-built-epic2-values/">EPIC2</a> values. Throughout this process, the team learned a lot about the origins and deep-rooted history of terms and the power of words.

How We're Continuing Our Efforts

VMware expanded this effort by actively participating in industry initiatives like the <a href="https://inclusivenaming.org/">Inclusive Naming Initiative</a> and contributes to the <a href="https://www.incits.org/">InterNation Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) Inclusive Terminology ad hoc standards development </a>community. These groups are responsible for establishing inclusive terminology baselines and revisions to style guides across corporations, academia and standards organizations. VMware leverages the findings of these industry and standards groups to validate that our internal initiatives are in alignment with industry best practices.

From the start of the Inclusive Terminology initiative, VMware employees have actively submitted terms that they felt were racist, genderist, discriminatory or non-inclusive. This enabled us to expand the lens of the initiative beyond root terms such as “master/slave” and “whitelist/blacklist.” In parallel, VMware continues its efforts to ensure that our products are accessible. 

To assist with term discovery and remediation, VMware has developed a content scanner and browser highlighting tools which we plan to open source in the future.

While working on this effort, I frequently remember the words of late Congressman John Lewis, “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up.  You have to say something; you have to do something. Never be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”

VMware’s leadership, product managers, marketing, content creators and engineering teams all have stepped up to drive this ongoing effort across the company. And VMware’s path towards raising awareness and using inclusive terminology continues.

<a href="https://www.vmware.com/company/diversity.html">Learn more</a> about VMinclusion, our diversity, equity and inclusion initiative.

An update on how we're continuing to correct non-inclusive terminology used in our products and company collateral.

Read about our ongoing effort to correcting non-inclusive terminology in our content and products.

VMware’s Inclusive Terminology Journey

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VMware's Inclusive Terminology Journey - VMware News and Stories

Director, Industry Standards Office, VMware

Eric Betts

Read about our ongoing effort to correcting non-inclusive terminology in our content and products. #Diversity #Inclusion #Equity

VMworld was a huge success due to the participation of all of you: our customers, suppliers, employees and shareholders. As the leader of VMware’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Office, I am especially proud of all those who participated in the <a href="https://octo.vmware.com/vmworld2021-setlist/">Inspire Change</a> track, which included sessions to deepen understanding of the connection between digital transformation, technology, and business imperatives of sustainability, equity and trust. Together, we learned new skills and ways of thinking to build our careers; how to be an ally for diversity, equity and inclusion; and how to be a change agent for a better planet.

Whether you had the opportunity to take part in the Inspire Change sessions or not, each participant at VMworld made a tangible contribution to VMware’s environmental sustainability efforts as we planted trees in honor of our attendees. Trees are a nature-based solution to climate change and part of our <a href="http://www.vmware.com/company/net-zero">journey to net zero emissions</a>, which includes a goal to plant and protect 1 million trees by 2030. Conserving, restoring and growing trees around the world helps clean the air we breathe, filter the water we drink and complement emissions reduction efforts to reverse climate change.

For this year’s VMworld, we planted 80,000 trees to thank our attendees! 

We partnered with <a href="https://www.1t.org/pledges/one-million-trees-for-a-thriving-planet">1t.org</a> to support our tree planting initiatives, part of the World Economic Forum’s work to accelerate nature-based solutions in support of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

VMware’s Journey to Net Zero

Nature-based solutions are an important part of VMware’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions for our operations and supply chain by 2030. As part of our <a href="http://www.vmware.com/company/esg">Environmental, Social and Governance</a> strategy, our net zero goal builds on approved <a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/">science-based targets</a> and expands the scope of our climate commitments. In addition to implementing nature-based solutions to achieve net zero, we also participate in renewable energy initiatives like the <a href="https://rebuyers.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance</a> and <a href="https://www.there100.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RE100</a>, a global collaborative representing businesses committed to using 100% renewable electricity. VMware is proud to be a <a href="https://www.carbonneutral.com/news/vmware-becomes-a-carbon-neutral-company-two-years-ahead-of-schedule" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Certified CarbonNeutral® Company</a> since 2018, and we are excited to announce signing <a href="https://www.theclimatepledge.com/content/amazonclimatepledge/us/en/Signatories/vmware.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Climate Pledge</a> to further our net zero progress alongside companies around the world and across industries.

The ability to drive and inspire change is paramount to my role leading ESG at VMware. However, ESG is a team sport, and we are only as successful as the people that participate in these sustainability efforts. My personal gratitude to everyone who attended VMworld and to the trees that will grow in your honor.

VMware's journey to net zero as part of our 2030 Agenda continued at VMworld 2021 as we planted trees in honor of our attendees.

ESG is a team sport. Read about our latest net zero partnerships as we continue on our path to 2030.

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The Road to 1 Million Trees: Net Zero and You - VMware News and Stories

Nicola Acutt

#ESG is a team sport. Read about our latest #netzero partnerships as we continue on our path to #VMware2030.

To say we’re going through a “difficult time” is the understatement of the century. Thankfully, digital technologies and innovative service providers are helping us stay grounded during this tumultuous time.

Shining a Light on Mental Health Struggles & Digital Services

In contrast to localized disasters, the pandemic has impacted nearly everyone in the world. And that collective experience has empowered people to voice feelings that typically go unshared. Emotions ranging from isolation and loneliness to anxiousness and worry.

Today, not only friends and family but increasingly business leaders, politicians and sports champions—of note, former McKinsey senior partner and former chief economic and business advisor to the California governor, <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/mental-health-in-the-workplace-the-coming-revolution" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lenny Mendonca</a>, highly decorated Olympic swimmer <a href="https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-news/pages/shrm21-annual-conference-michael-phelps-mental-health.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michael Phelps</a>, tennis star Naomi Osaka and gymnastic great Simone Biles—speak publicly about mental health.

“There has never been a time in our history where mental health has been so prominent as a part of the collective conversation as it is now,” said Dr. Joe Grasso, clinical psychologist and senior director of Workforce Mental Health at <a href="https://www.lyrahealth.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lyra Health</a>.

“And there is fortunately some silver lining to come from COVID-19 in the form of de-stigmatizing (the) mental health struggle,” Grasso said.

From Empathy to Widely Available Services

Discussion around <a href="https://news.vmware.com/dei/empathy-leadership-trait" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">empathy as a critical leadership skill</a> has risen. So, too, has action by company leaders to promote mental health benefits and get employees who want help, the care they need. When leaders address the subject, it gives others permission to join the conversation.

“The most powerful testimonials come from leaders who speak up and say, ‘I’ve used this benefit. I find it valuable because I also struggle.’ That really shifts a work culture,” said Dr. Grasso.

What successful people coming forward shows, Dr. Grasso found, is that “any of us might struggle, but all of us should consider mental health support from a professional.”

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